125cc motorcycle + DIY fiberglass fairing = 214mpg, super cool looks
By Tim Stevens 
posted July 7th 2010 6:39PM
posted July 7th 2010 6:39PM
[Photo credit: Hans Pieterse]
posted July 7th 2010 6:39PM
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Super cool looks huh?... hmmmm
@mrkalel By "super cool looks" they clearly mean "super gay looks."
@GeneralThade
They forgot to mention the super idiotic comments.
@mrkalel I guess they mean "Looks that will get you beat up by a guy with Charlie on the back of his vest, while you lie helpless in front of a stop light because you were unable to drop your kickstand from inside of your incredibly safe fiberglass enclosure of love.
@mrkalel If it was on a 500CC It WOULD be bad-ass but seeing some guy sitting up like that on the highway would would look, umh, silly?...
@mrkalel
Super cool looks?? Badass??
@mrkalel is this a JOKE? U KNOW IT LOOKS, to me like someone wouldhave a hard time keeping there balanc on that thing. i mean where the heck do u put your hands when u arent steering or your shoulders etc. unless that thing is hecka wide, which would probably make it even harder to keep a balance on, it looks like this is completely failing in the design aspect. i mean that person looks completely cramped in there. that is unsafe to be on the road driving one of those, unles of course that thing on there is a case and its just for the picture! what a horrible MOTOCYCLE!
Anyone else think that looks like a giant nose?
@Dante of the Inferno A FUGLY NOSE AT THAT!!!
@Dante of the Inferno Why do you think humans evolved noses ?
@Dante of the Inferno : looks like a mutant chicken egg on wheels.
@Dante of the Inferno
German people will soon be following that motorcycle
@Dante of the Inferno
Specifically the nose from the Witch in Wicked...*cough*
How do you get in and out?
@Johnny Rockets
"which slides forward to allow easy egress"
It was in the 3rd sentence on this page.
@Johnny Rockets
The shell "...slides forward to allow easy egress..."
@Johnny Rockets
Get a lubricant, seems to always work for me...
@Johnny Rockets Well... (Have to Say it) Thats what she said...
@Johnny Rockets
It inhales you through that giant nose, how else? When you feel like dismounting, the bike gives a big ACHOO! and out you go.
This thing is a winner by a "nose"
@icon808 I think the official name of it should be the "The Schnoz®".
I really don't see how this is badass...
@Wes Steele I said it's more badass than this:
http://www.bikez.com/pictures/honda/2008/27719_0_1_2_sh%20125i%20sporty_Image%20credits%20-%20Honda.jpg
Which it totally is.
@Wes Steele
Maybe you missed the part where it says 214 MPG??? Try reading the article again...
@TimStevens
That's a picture of a scooter - no brake on the right side for the foot, implying the two hand controls are front and rear brakes (implying the left hand is not a clutch, hence, not a motorcycle).
Is the one in the picture really a motorcycle?
Where does he put his feet when he stops?
How does he turn in a parking lot without the tire bumping the shell?
@Wes Steele This was bad ass- in 1979 when I owned one
It got 213 MPG (imperial gallon) but no stupid faring, no mods and not hyper-mile driving haxs.
http://www.mopedarmy.com/wiki/Image:Gloriaintramotor.jpg
@ObiWanKenobi Agreed, I should have said scooter in the hed. Regardless, he can put his feet down through openings in the fairing, and I'm guessing a bike this small turns rather tightly even without access to full lock. If something tighter is needed, as mentioned in the post, the fairing slides forward.
@SmokemeaKipper Seriously, motorcycles with big engines get sick MPG, I read this and thought, "Is that really all it's getting and we think of this as news?" Don't get me wrong, I think we should all have something similar for solo commutes, I'm just saying I don't think we have a great baseline comparison set up mentally for how to view this number.
@TimStevens
Yikes, put your feet on the ground when going slightly too fast they the get sheared clean off. I'll stick to a bike that won't threaten limb loss (and a complete loss of interest from women).
Y is this on engadget? people have been doing this for decades.
And FYI you need 150cc to go on a highway (in california atleast).
Popular science did an article on this a month ago.
@F86 Pilot
"A month ago" was soooo last month.
@F86 Pilot
I don't read Popular Science. But I do read Engadget; I wouldn't know about it otherwise.
Why not make it look a bit more stylish and lose some MPG's for the sake of actually being able to produce something like this?
@Creativity Because some people, like me, could give a sh!t about style. Performance trumps style every day in my book.
One thing to consider from a style point of view, all that side area is a great canvas for self expression.
@chieftom
"could give a sh!t about style" implies you care about style and contradicts your next line about performance.
"couldn't give a shit" is what you want.
@chieftom
But from a business stand point, it'd be more practical to add an aesthetic appeal to the product in order to sell more.
Ummm... most motorcycles are AIR COOLED. (or at best have a radiator that needs air moving over it to work) Even if that were not an issue, under this shell it will get very, very warm for the rider. Not comfortable at all.
Not only that, but my 150cc gets about 110-115 MPG without this silly thing. While it is a nice improvement, I don't think it's as dramatic as it looks.
@DavidR
The original bike is air-cooled... there shouldn't be a problem with the cooling, since the bike is practically open on the bottom...
This thing gets 2x (TWICE!!!) the miles per gallon (costs HALF to run), just with 2 pieces of plastic added...
I guess it's all in the perspective...
@pretol
I am not convinced that there is enough air moving over the engine to keep it cool enough to operate. The whole point of an air cooled engine is to have a lot of air running over it, which if that were happening would be providing so much drag you wouldn't be seeing the rise in MPGs.
Also, it still would get unbearably hot in there. I wouldn't want to try it on even a mild day.
@DavidR He is increasing the MPG by decreasing the wind resistance. This means that it will also have a much higher top speed and I would bet that the acceleration above 40mph is improved.
@DavidR I agree, where are the vents?
A giant dildo would have been cooler.
I am sold on this
@ColorblindMonk
Really? With that color?
The record is 8500mpg... :) so keep working...
125cc? Oh god, I hope no one gets hit with a blue shell on one of these.
I wouldn't get caught dead in that...
Mork calling Orson.....
Warrior of the lost world?